To think vets are overcharging

[MyPunnyLemur]

I've just picked my dog up from vets. He got a grass seed in his paw and our first aid measures didn't stop him licking it incessantly so off to the vet we went. As I don't have insurance I was given a choice of prices. We had, apparently got the seed out but "to be on the safe side " a sedation of dog while given a thorough cleanse and check over was required. I suppose I could have said no but he's 11and I love him to bits, so I agreed to an estimate. £660 or £487!!!!! Obviously the paw was covered in a gold leaf bandage for that price. He came out 1 hour later with 4 painkillers a plastic cone and no covering at all on the wound. £487? I've paid obviously. Wth did they do for it to be so expensive? And to top it all whilst I was paying someone reversed into my parked car and then drove off so I'm left with a damaged car and another big bill. But that's another story .

As a old friend said this is what private health care looks like.nHS is not free,but paid for from Nat Insurance. How many people moan about vet bills, Dentist costs and so on. Yet have Netflix, the latest phone, TV car etc.You are paying for the expertise,several years of uni and the difficulties of having patients who can't talk!9

Yes . I paid £500 for private blood tests over 10 years ago. Healthcare is incredibly expensive human or animal

At the risk of stating the obvious, Dublin is not in the UK. Vets in Ireland are not subject to the same legislation.

It is also legal to prescribe human medicines in UK, but only if there isn't a specifically approved veterinary one. Which is the case with many eye products.

There are 2 things being conflated on this thread.

1 vets are being overpaid and that is driving costs. I have no issue with what vets get paid as clearly it’s a highly skilled role. I also don’t think this is the primary driver of cost increases. It’s hedge funds, it’s medication that is/n’t licensed for animal use and it’s overall overheads.

2 is what many people are actually upset about - transparency of costs. Of course there will be procedures that for example, have to happen under sedation because you can’t ask a dog to nicely hold its mouth open. This increases costs for seemingly simple treatments.

It’s not rocket-science to detail the cost of anaesthetic (considering equipment, people, time) etc, have it as a range up front and then clearly listed on an invoice.

Vets are NOT being overpaid. £34,000-£40,000 is not overpaid. Corporates are making a fortune.

There is no actual difference between a particular drug used for humans and for animals. Although there are some drugs which are toxic for certain species.

There is one difference - the meds the vets supply for animal use can be used many species whether it be my mongrel (sorry cockerdalpoo), cattle or racehorses and will have had to be tested to see how long it stays in the animal's system before it can be eaten or raced.
Human medicine has a completely different set of tests so it is safe

6 hedge fund backed firms own 60% of UK vet practices! That's where the money is going, not on vet wages!